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A ‘good death’, one that is natural and involves lesser suffering and distress, is elusive in the present time. Indiscriminate uses of life-sustaining medical technologies in present times only lead older people and their families to frantically search for ‘good death’. On the other hand, there is little information on ageing and dying in folk and indigenous societies. In response to the huge information deficit, this article attempts to explore perceptions about death in old-age among Lodhas, a Mundari-speaking tribal community of eastern India. Interacting with only living 15 elderly members in a hamlet let us know their beliefs like, 1. Death being inevitable, they do not seek medical interventions to postpone it; 2. Close connection with nature till death brings peace; 3. No compromise with personal autonomy; and 4. Filial piety in moments of dying. The study theorises their indigenous beliefs are keys to ageing and dying well in the Lodha community. Hopefully, the insights from the ethnic group will be a lesson for modern societies to overcome death anxiety in old-age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common perception about multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach is that it improves the quality of care to hospitalised patients. However, there is paucity of information on the challenges in implementing such an approach in end-of-life care (eolc). Conducted in a multispecialty hospital in Kolkata (India), the present study explores barriers to MDT functioning in the context of 'eolc'. The study finds the MDT approach fails to live up to its rhetoric. One of the major challenges is a professional boundary that inevitably arises in MDTs. Due to this, specialist physicians fail to overcome disciplinary boundaries to make consensus end-of-life decisions. Moreover, in the physician-dominant medical team, where nurses and other non-clinical caregivers' roles are marginalised, holistic caregiving is compromised. The hospital environment is also not conducive to multidisciplinary teamwork. Application of a disease-specific treatment protocol in 'eolc' cases jeopardises team coordination, adversely affects 'eolc' referrals and disrupts care transfers. Dying patients and their families are especially affected by such discordant care. Based on the findings, the study suggests that while team approach is imperative to effective 'eolc', there is a need to shift focus from multidisciplinary to transdisciplinary approach to enhance care integration and patient-centric care to terminally ill patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Tulika. Bhattacharyya, Suhita. Chatterjee, Dipannita. Chand, Debolina. Chatterjee, Jaydeep. Sengupta Aim: This study makes an assessment of end-of-life care of the elderly in private homes in Kolkata, West Bengal, [...]

The article presents a case study on Bangladeshi children who migrated to India in search of job. It mentions that the migrated children are forced to engage in smuggling and states that the study is conducted on children aged between 8-17 years. The study reveals that boys from Bangladesh migrate to India in search of job but fall prey to traffickers and Indian Border Security Force (BSF).